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Click here for Rabbi Ismach's YouTube Derasha for Rosh Hashana

Dear Kehila,

I want to first of all thank everyone that participated in our minyanim on Rosh Hashana. It was a great pleasure to see so many friends come to shul for the first time after so many months. I am confident that most attendees found our minyanim to be conducted safely, and perhaps with a renewed sense of meaning and devotion. There are many who worked diligently to make this happen. Perhaps the most important Hakarat Hatov goes to our own Rabbi Ismach. Not only did he plan the modified davening and engineered this great feat, but he personally davened Mussaf for the Amud no less than 10 times in a 48-hour period. I don't know if this fits in any Guinness Book of World Records category, but if it does, there is surely now a new world record holder. Our ten(!) children's and adult Shofar blowing events also proved to be a great success, bringing this most important mitzvah to the doorstep of many who could not participate in our regular minyanim.

We are fortunate to live in a community that is responsive to the needs of the shul and the safety of our members. Both the Village of Great Neck and the Village of Great Neck Estates went out of our way to approve our tent permits immediately upon application. The GNE Police Department not only closed Clover Drive to all vehicular traffic during services, but provided police vehicles and police officers to make sure our services can be conducted in complete safety and security. A special thanks to Karen Roth, Vice President of Security David Kirsch, and Vice President of House Nessim Tammam that made this happen.

Speaking of safety and security, although it has taken a tremendous amount of time and energy to run the shul safely with relation to COVID, our other projects to protect our members and staff are ongoing. Those that have been in the shul building this week may have noticed that we have now secured all the glass in the building with a safety film upgrade. Short of making the structure bullet proof, this upgrade makes our windows immune to shattering and highly resistant to forced entry. The great news is that thanks to the many months of work invested by our member Reuben Scherzer, this expensive upgrade is being entirely reimbursed by the Department of Homeland Security through an HHS grant. Our security upgrades are still continuing, and we will keep you posted as the work progresses.

Yom Kippur is now only days away. Thanks to everyone that has already pledged and contributed to our Kol Nidrei Appeal of 5781. As you know this is one of the most important annual fundraising events for our shul. Without the success of this appeal, we could not provide the programming and services that makes our shul Donesuch an important institution in the community and to our members. If you have not yet had a chance to contribute this year, or if you wish to increase your pledge, please use the link provided in today's Daily Digest to use our convenient online payment service.

We look forward to seeing all of you on Yom Kippur. If you are attending shul with other family members, please use the designated seating meant for groups of two, three or more in order to maximize our seating capacity and maximize social distancing. One or more additional seats can be added to virtually any table in the gym or tent minyanim to accommodate these larger groups, while maintaining proper social distancing. More on this will be shared tomorrow.

Wishing you a G'mar Chatima Tova,

David Basaleli
President
Young Israel of Great Neck

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• *NEW* - "The Other Hand - A Book Discussion with Author Dr. Andrew Kane and Rabbi Shmuel Ismach" - Link
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• "Old Leather, New Ink; Forgery and the Dead Sea Scrolls" with Professor Lawrence Schiffman - Link
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